Pears

Sometimes the first snow is a stark reminder of the dark and cold to come, and they just want to die

@Pears pardon the pun but its a deeper subject than what your referring to, as an ex highways driver/equip operator/road foreman ,the problem your talking about does take a few snowfall events for the travelling public to get in the rythme of it. unfortunately for the lowermainland and lower island ,with the exception of last winter these snowfall events can be sporatic  and nobody really gets into the groove so to speak. since privitization was so long ago(nov88) a lot of people have nothing to compare the response to ,of the contractors and may well think that's as good as its going to get, I was 26 in 1985 when I started with ministry of highways ,lasted 3 years and then went to the contractor thru sucsessorship, and I can tell you that the contractor response is way slower than it was. and then you hear the public scream about the lack of response EVERY winter but then it goes away by spring, and by then the contractor is off the hook again......

It might shock you to know, there's an accident on average every 2 minutes. Just listen to Am 730. The reality is most folks aren't as good of drivers as we think we are. When I went through Pacfic Riding School, it opened my eyes. I think everyone should at least take a group ride on a motorcycle. You learn to scan way farther ahead. You get to a higher state of vigilance. You feel all the bumps, and imperfections of the road. And realize how vulnerable you are. 

The problem with snow is folks drive AWD, traction control, 4x4's and think ice and snow is no problem. I've seen folks in 4x4's driving way too fast, the reality is you might grip better, but you don't stop any faster. 

Let's be careful out there.